Angelina Jolie just opened up about sexual violence and it’s very powerful

Angelina Jolie did not hold back when addressing sexual violence today at the UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial Conference in Vancouver. The actress delivered a speech urging the peacekeeping officials to crack down on these types of crimes, and it will make you emotional.

‘Sexual violence is everywhere – in the industry where I work, in business, in universities, in politics, in the military, and across the world,’ she said during her keynote address on Wednesday. ‘All too often, these kinds of crimes against women are laughed off, depicted as a minor offence by someone who cannot control themselves, as an illness, or as some kind of exaggerated sexual need,’ she continued. ‘But a man who mistreats women is not oversexed. He is abusive.’

While Jolie did not expressly reference the Harvey Weinstein allegations that have come to light, it’s clear that she was alluding to the current state of Hollywood with these comments. She previously told the New York Times that she had ‘a bad experience’ with Weinstein.

The actress went on to discuss how sexual violence affects women across the world, referencing the female Rohingya refugees seeking asylum in Bangladesh, calling sexual violence ‘a critical obstacle to achieving women’s equality and our full human rights.’

She continued by adding that it’s used as weapon of war. ‘It is cheaper than a bullet, and it has lasting consequences that unfold with sickening predictability that make it so cruelly effective,’ she explained. While sexual violence is a major issue we’re facing worldwide, Jolie says it is possible to make the necessary changes.

‘[It’s] hard, but it is not impossible,’ she said. ‘We have the laws, the institutions, and the expertise in gathering evidence. We are able to identify perpetrators. What is missing is the political will.’

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